Power transmitting unit for vehicles



Jan. 23, 1934. l v C, w, FLQSS 1,944,685

POWER TRANSMITTING UNIT FOR VEHICLES ATTORN EY z 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT rZ I/K FO Y ATTORNEY Jan. 23, 1934. c. w. FLoss POWER TRANSMITTING UNIT FORVEHICLES Filed May 19, 1930 Jan. 23, 1934. c, w, FLQss 1,944,685

POWER TRANSMITTING UNIT 'FOR VEHICLES Filed Mayy 19, 1930 5 sheets-sheet 3 INVENT R Cdr! l/l/ los?. BY

ATTORNEY Jan. 23, 1934-. c. w. FLoss 1,944,585

POWER TRANSMITTING UNIT FOR VEHICLES v Filed May 19, 195o 5 sheets-sheet 4 ATTORNEY Jan. 23, 1934. c. w. FLoss POWER TRANSMITTING UNIT FOR VEHICLES 5 sheets-sheet 5 Filed May 19, 1950 NTOR ATTORN EY Paieiea Jan, 23, '1934 l 1,944,685

POWER TRANSMITTING UNIT FOR VEHICLES Carl W. Floss, Detroit, Mich.

Application May 19, 1930. Serial No. 453,745 1o claims. (C1. 74-57) This invention relates generally to front wheel Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially drive vehicles and more particularly to improved on the line 2-2 of Figure 1., means for transmitting power from the engine Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially of the vehicle to the drive wheels thereof. on the'line 3--3 of Figure 1.

While front wheel drive vehicles have achieved Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially 60 considerable recognition in the trade as possessonthe line 4-4 of Figure 1.` ing many advantageous features over the con- Figure 5 is a side elevational view partly in ventional rear drive systems, nevertheless, there section of the construction shown in Figure 1. are -several distinct objections to front wheel Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially drive vehicles as now commercially produced. on the line 6 6 of Figure 5.

One of the most predominant objections to the Figure 7 is ay longitudinal sectional view front wheel drive principle is that i't is not through a modied form of construction.

adaptable to vehicles having `a relatively small Referring now to the drawings, it will be noted wheel base owing to the abnormalspace required that there is illustrated in Figure 1 a power translbetween the drivers compartment and front axle lmitting unit 10 especially designed for front 70 assembly necessary to accommodate the engine, wheel drive vehicles and adapted to be supported clutch, variable speed transmission and diiferby a chassis lframe (not shown) in advance of the v ential gearing. In addition to the above, front engine 1l which is preferably of the convention- Wheel drive systems are inclined to be extremely al multi-cylinder internal combustion type. The

2O complicated in design and difficult to service due power transmitting unit 10 comprises generally 75 to the inaccessibility ofV the parts involved and a clutch12, a variable speed transmission 13 and in most instances prove costly to manufacture dilferential drive mechanismll. The clutch 12 on a production basis. may be of any conventional design suitable for The present invention contemplates eliminat- OpelalVelY Connecting the drive Shaft 15 0f the ing the foregoing objections by appreciably reengine with the power or clutch shaft 16, while 80 ducing the over-al1 dimension of the power unit the variable speed transmission is preferably of permitting a corresponding reduction inthe the selective gear type and'is operatively conspace required between the drivers compartment Iiected to the differential gearing for driving the of the vehicle and the front axle thereof and latter from the power shaft 16 at different speeds.

3o also by simplifying generally the construction The differential mechanism 14, selected for'the 85 of the several parts involved andrendering the purpose of illustration, is of the conventional parts more accessible with the result that the ring and pinion type adapted t0 drive the front cost of manufacture is not -only materially rev wheels of the vehicle in a manner vto be more fully duced but adjustment and replacement of the hereinafter Set fOrth.

parts facilitated. Moreover, by reducing the AS previously Stated, one 0f the prmcipal ob- 90 0ver a11 dimension of the power unit, the engine jects of the invention is to reduce the over-all dimay be located in closer proximity to thel drive mfnson of the power um@ 10 and thereby mimf' wheelsv with the result that a relatively large lm ze the spaj nefessary for aCcQmmodatmg'hls percentage of the weight thereof is supported umt' The mvltlon cnerlnplaes egromlzmg 95 directly by the drive wheels, thereby increasing ggcjigs ostlllladeal gngylg ghnaiftleghwle and enhancmg the transmission and providing a common housing Whq th f u th b. t i 17 for the differential gearing and transmission.

, t' e .oregolpg as we as o er 9 Jee s The housing 17 is preferably formed of two parts m new the Inventum restdes not only the 18 and 19 detachably secured together by means 100 nove1- detalls of construction b1. also 1, the of a series of bolts 20 so arranged as to be readily gecl'lhartrrangemlnof pagrts Wngl Perltsf' accessible to facilitate assembly. The part 19 Of ucmg e Over-a 111161151011 0 e um e the housing 17 extends rearwardly beyondthe foregoing will be1 made more apparent as this transmission proper and is provided with aradial description proceeds, especially when considered flange 21 adapted tO be detachably secured to 105 in connection with the accompanying drawings, the forward'end of the clutch housing by means wherein: of a series of bolts 22.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view For the purpose of illustration, the transmisthrough a power' unit constructed and arranged sion shown herein is of the three speed selective ai, in accordance with this invention. type and comprises a transmission shaft 23j sup- 110 ported co-axially with the power shaft 16 and having axially extending spaced splines 24 and 25 formed on the front and rear end portionsA respectively thereof. The shaft 23 is supported intermediate the ends within the rear end wall 26 of the section 18 of the housing by a suitable thrust bearing 27 engaging the portion of the shaft intermediate the splines and is further supported at the forward end thereof by means of a roller bearing 28 carried by a web 29 formed integral with and extending inwardly from the housing 17 intermediate the ends thereof. Thus, it will be observed that the forward end of the transmission shaft 23 terminates at a point intermediate the ends of the housing 17 so as to provide sufficient space for the equalizing or differential mechanism to be presently described. Thel rear end portion of the transmission shaft 23 on the other hand extends within a recess 30 in the forward end of thepower shaft 16, but is not journaled therein as is the usual practice since the thrust bearing 27 and roller bearing 28 owing to their close proximity to each other form an ample support for the shaft. By eliminating the usual bearing for the transmission shaftjwithin the end o f the power shaft, a saving in cost of manufacture is not only effected but the installation of .a relatively simple synchronizing device designated generally by the reference character 31 is permitted. 'I'he mode of operation of the synchronizing device and the manner in which the same is installed` will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

In order to directly connect the power shaft 16 and transmission shaft 23, I provide a suitable gear 32 slidably mounted upon the splines 25 and having an interior annular set of teeth 33 adapted to mesh with corresponding teeth 34 on the forward end of the power shaft 16. The gear 32 is further provided with an' annular outer set of teeth 35 operable in one position of the gear 32 to mesh with a cooperating gear 36 secured to the counter-shaft 37 which is constantly driven from the power shaft 16 by a gear 38secured to the rear end of the counter-shaft within the housing section 19 and meshing with the teeth 34 on the power shaft. such that movement of the gear 32 rearwardly vengages the cooperating lteeth 33 and 34 to di- 5-0 rectly drive the transmission shaft 23 from the` power shaft 16,' while movement of the gear 32 forwardly effects an engagement of the teeth 35 von the latter gear with the cooperating teeth on the gear 36-to indirectly connect the power shaft 5 with the transmission shaft for effecting rotation of the latter at a different speed. The gear 32 is preferably actuated in accordance with the usual practice by a suitable shifting fork 39 having one end engaging in a recess 40 formed in the gear and the opposite end operatively connected to the sliding rail 41 which in turn is connected to the gear shift lever (not shown).

g The counter-shaft 37 preferably extends longitudinally of the casing 17 across the differential mechanism 14 and is journaled upon a suitable shaft 42 having the opposite ends thereof secured within the front and rear walls of the casing 17. As shown particularly in Figure 1,'the countershaft is splined as at 43 intermediate the ends thereof for slidably receiving a suitable gear 44 .which, for the purpose of illustration, will be referred to hereinafter as a low speed gear. The low speed gear 44 is provided with a series of annular teeth 45 operable in onefposition of the gear to engage corresponding teeth 46 formed on The foregoing arrangement is f the cooperating low speed gear 47. The gear 47 is secured to the splines 24 on vthe shaft 23 immediately in front of the roller bearing 28 and when driven by the gear 44, eifects rotation of the shaft 23 at a relatively slow rate of speed. The gear 44 is moved upon the Asplines43 into and out of engagement with the gear 47 by means of. a shifter fork 48 pivotally mounted intermediate the endsthereof as at 49 and having the lower end 50 engaging within a suitable recess 51 formed in the gear 44. The upper end 52 of `the shifter fork 48 is secured to a suitable shifter` rail 53 also adapted to be operated by the usual gear shifting lever above referred to and not shown herein. The foregoing construction is such that movement of the shifter rail 53 axially in one direction effects an axalmovement of the gear 44 in the opposite direction to either engage or dis-engage the gears 44 and 47 depending upon the direction of movement of the rail.

In order to drive the transmission shaft 23 in the opposite direction from the power shaft 16,. I provide an idler shaft 54 located to one side of the transmission shaft 23 as clearly shown/in Figure 3 of the drawings, and having the opposite ends thereof secured respectively in the end wall 26 of the section 18 and in the web 29. Slidably mounted as a unit upon the shaft 54 is a pair of axially spaced gears 55 and 56.- The space between thev gears 55 and 56 is so selected 105 that when the parts above described are in a predetermined position, the gear 55 meshes with the low speed gear 47 and the gear 56 mesheswith the low speed gear. 44. In orderA to movel the parts to the aforesaid predetermined posi. 110 tion to effect an engagement ofthe above-mentioned gears, a third shifter fork 57 is provided having one end operatively engaging the gears 55 and 56 for moving the latter and havingthe opposite end connected tothe shifter rail 53 as 115 shown in Figure 6 of the drawings. lThe foregoing construction is such that when the shifter rail 53 is in its normal or neutral position, the idler reverse gears 55 and 56'are out of mesh with both of the gears 44 and 47 with the result 120 that the reverse gearing does not revolve when not in use thereby eliminating noise and wear of the parts.

With the 'construction as thus far ldescribed, it will be observed that movement of the shifter 125 rail 53 in one direction causes the gears 55 and 56 to move in a corresponding direction as `distinguished from the low speed gear 44 which owing to its connection with the shifter rail 53, as specified above, causes thel gear 44 to move in 130 an opposite direction to the direction of movement of the rail set forth above. In detail, when the shifter rail 53 is moved axially rearwardly from the position shown in Figure 1, the shifter fork 48 functions to move the low speed gear 44 335 forwardly into engagement with the cooperating gear 47. As the low speed gear 44 is being moved forwardly by the shifterfork 48, the shifter fork 57 "operates to move the idler gears 55 and 56. rearwardly or in a direction corresponding to the 140 direction'of movement of the rail 53 which, as previously stated, is opposite to thedirection of movement ofthe gear 44. Thus, it will be seen that movement of the Arail 53 in a direction to mesh the gears 44 and 47 effects a movement of 14:2 the idler 'gears 55 and 56 away from the low speed gears. On the other hand, when the shifter rail 53 is moved forwardly from the posinon shown in Figure 1, the idler gears 55 and v 56 are moved forwardly as a unit and the low 153 the other pair of gears so as' to facilitate meshing of the'gears. By reason of the foregoing construction, it will 4be observed that only two shifter rails are necessary in-the transmission since both the low and reverse speed shifter members are actuated by a single shifter rail.

Referring now, more in detail to the synchronizing device 31, it will be noted that this device is of simple design and comprises a member 58 having a portion slidably and non-rotatably mounted within a recess 59 formed in the front end of the power shaft 16 and having a frustoconical portion 60 normally urged into frictional engagement with a correspondingly shaped recess 61 formed in the rear end of the transmission shaft23, by a vsuitable coil spring 62. By reason of the above construction, shifting of the gears is greatly facilitated since the synchronizing device controls to some extent the relative rotation of the shaft 16, counter-shaft and transv mission shaft.

Thus, from the foregoing it will be observed that I have provided a transmission assembly wherein only one slidable gear is mounted upon the transmission shaft thereby permitting a reduction in the over-al1 length of thel shaft with a corresponding reduction. in bearing surface area. As stated above, with my improved construction itAis not essential to provide a bearing within the "end of the power shaft for the corresponding end of the transmission shaft thereby not only facilitating the assembly of arsynchro; nizing device of the type specied above within the end of the power shaft,but also reducing the number of parts of the transmission. In this connection it is to be noted, however, that my improved synchronizing device may be used with slight modification within the conventional type of transmission wherein one end of the spline shaft is journaled within the adjacent end of the clutch or power shaft.

As previously stated, in order to reduce the over-all dimension of the power unit 10 and to effect economy in manufacture, the differential drive mechanism 14 is located Within the section 17 of the housing in overlapping relation with the transmission. In detail, the differential mechanism 14 comprises a pinion 63 secured by the splines 24 on the transmission shaft 23 intermediate the thrust bearing 27 and low speed gear 47 and hayingtapered teeth 64 adapted to mesh With corresponding teeth 65 on the ring gear 66. Thev ring gear 66 is secured as at 67 to the inner end of a tubular shaft 68 having the outer end portions thereof journaled in a suitable thrust bearing 69 carried by-the side Wall 70 of 'the casing 17. As shown particularly in Figure 2, the ring gear is provided with a central hub section 71 having the extreme outer end porportion aforesaid. The pinions 73 are adaptedA to mesh with a pair of co-axially extending pinions 75 and 76 splined on the innerl ends of the axles 77 and 78, respectively. The axles 77 'and 78 are arranged co-axially with each other andhave the innerends thereof spaced from each other and the outer ends projecting through lthe side Walls 70 and.,72 of the casing for detachable connection with suitable coupling members which are adapted to be connected to the front wheels of the vehicle. The aboveconstruction is such as to permit differential movements ofthe axles 77 and 78 in accordance with the usual practice. As will be observed from Figure 2 of the drawings, the shaft 77 extends through the tubular shaft 68 in co-axial relation thereto and the coupling member on the outer end of the shaft 77 is journaled within the enlarged outer end 77 of the tubular shaft 68. In this connection it is to be noted from the above figure that the usual speedometerdrive gear 78' is secured to the outer end of the shaft 68 so as not to interfere with removal of the shaft 77.

For securing the axles 77 and 78 in assembled relation, the latter are provided with co-axially extending bores 79 for receiving a tie rod 80. The tie rod 80 is of one-piece construction and extends through both of the axles 77 and 78 and is provided with a head portion 81 at one end engaging the outer end of the axle 78 and a threaded portion at the opposite end for receiving the clamping nut 82. The arrangement is such that the axles 77 and 78 may be readily secured Within the assembly or removed from the` latter by merely manipulating the-clamping bolt 82 and removing the rod. The above operation may be performed'from points exteriorly of the casing and accordingly may be accomplished with facility.

In order to provide for manually cranking the engine to start the same, I provide a pair of coaxially extending shafts 85 and 86 journaled ed for limited axial movement within the hous-` ing 17 and has secured to the inner end thereof Va clutch part 88 adapted to mesh with a corresponding clutch part 89 secured to the inner end of the shaft 85,v The outer end of the shaft 86 extends through the front wall of the casing 17 for receiving a suitable crank (not-shown) IThe arrangement is such that when it is desired to manually crank the engine, the-shaft 86 is moved `-inwardly against the action of the spring 90 to engage the .clutch parts 88 and 89. After the above clutch parts have been engaged, the shaft 86 is turned by means of a crank to effect a rotation of the shaft which in turn rotates the engine shaft in the manner outlined4 above.

ico

From the foregoing it will be observed that both the shafts 85 and 86 constitute a permanent part of the assembly and are so arranged within the housing as not to interfere with the operation of the transmission or differential mech.-

v anism.

The modified formbf power unit illustrated in Figure 7 is substantially the same as the power unit hereinbefore described with the exception Athat the intermediate speed gears 91 and 92 are arranged in constant mesh and like the constant meshing countershaft drive gear .93 and cooperating power shaft gear 94 are of the helical spur type. By reason of the provision of helical spur/15C tively silent in second speed and shifting of the gears from one speed, to the other is greatly y facilitated.

In order to actuate the transmission shaft 95 veither directly from the power shaft 96 or indirectly therefrom at an intermediate speed, I provide a clutch 97 slidably and non-rotatably mounted upon the transmission shaft 95 between lthe intermediate speed gear 91 which is freely ro- 'vtatably mounted upon the transmission "shaft 'and' the power shaft gear 94. The clutch memberl 97 is provided with axially spaced teeth 98 and 99 operable in one position of the clutch to directly drive the transmission shaft 95 from the power shaft 96 and in another position of the clutch to secure the gear 91 to .the transmission shaft'95 and thereby effectrotation of the latter at an intermediate speed. In detail, shifting of the clutch 97 rearwardly effects an engagement of he clutch teeth 98 with the internal teeth 10 formed upon the gear 94 to .directly connect the transmission 95 with the power shaft 96. On the other hand, movement of the clutch forwardly effects an engagement of the teeth 99 with cooperating internal teeth 101 formed` upon the helical spur gear 91 to secure the latter to the transmission shaft and thereby drive the latter through the gears 94, 93 and 92 at an intermediate speed. As will be apparent from Figure 7, low .and reverse speeds are obtained inthe same manner as in the first-described lform of the invention and accordingly further description of the same will not be given at this point. The hand starting mechanismis also similar in operation to the construction de'ned in connecf. tion with the 'above-described form of the invention with the exception that the gear meshing with the power shaft gear 94 is of the helical spur type corresponding with the gear 94.

From the foregoing it will be observed that I have provideda variable speed transmission and differential drive Amechanism wherein the counter-shaft and a portion of the transmission shaft overlap the differential drive gearing' permitting both the aforesaid units to .be compactly assembled within a single casing. It will also be apparent from the above description that a material saving in cos't of manufacture is effected owing to the comparatively few number of parts involved and servicing of the power iunit is facilitated due to the accessibility of the pa'rts.

While two embodiments of the invention have been referred to herein somewhat in detail, it should be understoodl that various changes may be madey in the construction and arrangements of parts of the power unit without-departing from, the spirit and scope of this invention and accordingly reservation is made to make such changes as may come within the purview of the accompanying claims. s

-What I claim as my invention is: e 1. A power transmitting unit for vehicles comprising a variable speed transmission including a drive shaft and a pair of axially spaced bearings for supporting said drive shaft, differential drive mechanism including aA ring gear having its axis of rotation spaced beyond th'end of said drive shaft and extending transverselythereof, a gear mounted upon the drive shaft intermediate the bearings aforesaid and meshing with said ring gear for driving the latter, and a change speed gear for said transmission opposite the face of the ring gear and mounted upon said driveshaft beyond the bearings therefor.-

2. A power transmitting unit for vehicles comprising a Variable speed transmission havinga plurality of shafts, a gear slidably mounted upon one of said shafts and adapted to mesh with a second gear xed upon another of said shafts, a pair of gears slidably mounted on still another .of said shafts in axial spaced relation to each othen and adapted to mesh with said first and second-mentioned gears, a single actuating member for operating the gears, and means connecting said actuating member to the slidable gears l aforesaid operable upon movement of the member in one direction to move said first-mentioned gear into mesh with the second gear and upon movement of the said member in another direction to move said first-mentioned gear out of engagement with said second gear and 'to move one of the pair of gears aforesaid into engagement with the second gear and the other of said pair of gears into engagement with the first-mentioned gear.

3. A power transmitting unit for vehicles comprising a variable speed transmission having a plurality of shafts, a gear slidably mounted upon one of said shafts and'adapted to mesh with a corresponding gear-upon another of said shafts, a pair of gears slidable as a unit upon still another of said shafts and adapted to mesh with the first and second-mentioned gears aforesaid, and means for simultaneously actuating said firstmentioned gear and said pair of gears in opposite directions whereby movement of said gears to one position causes the first-mentioned gear to mesh with the second gear to drive-the latter in one direction and movementof said gears to another position effects an engagement of said pair -of gears respectively with the rst and .secondmentioned gears to. drive the latter gear in an opposite `direction.

4. A power transmitting unit for vehicles comprising a variable speed transmission having a drive gear and a shiftable gear adapted to be moved into mesh with the drive gearv for actuating the same in` one direction, reverse idler gearing including a pair of axially spaced gears slidably mounted as a unit within the transmission and adapted to mesh with the drive gear and shiftable gear for operating the drive gear in a reverse direction, and means for simultaneously moving said reverse idler gears and shiftable gear in opposite directions.

5. A power transmitting unit for vehicles comprising, a variable speed transmission having a plurality of shafts, a gear slidably mounted upon one o1v the shafts and adapted to mesh with a corresponding gear. upon another of said shafts, a pair of gears slidable as a unit upon still another of said shafts and adapted to mesh with the first and second mentioned gears aforesaid, and common means for actuating both of said slidable gears to effect selective meshing of the gears aforesaid. i

6. A power transmitting unit for vehicles comprising, a variable vspeed transmission having a plurality of shafts,l a gear slidably mounted upon one of the shafts and adapted to mesh with a corresponding gear upon another of said shafts to effect rotation of the latter shaft in one direction, a pair of gears slidable as a unit upon still another of said shafts and adapted to mesh with the flrst and second mentioned gears aforesaid to effect rotation of the second mentioned shaft and mounted upon the drive shaft whereby both' the pinion and ring gear are supported by ihe same section, and low speed gearing forming a part of the variable speed transmission positioned opposite the face of the ring gear.

8. A power transmitting unit for vehicles,l comprising a housing formed of a plurality of readily separable sections, diierential drive mechanism including a ring, gear located within and supported by one of said sections, variable speed transmission mechanism comprising a drive shaft joumaled within the aforesaid section in overlapping relation with the ring gear and having a low speed gear mounted thereon opposite the face of the ring gear, and a pinion meshing with the ring gear and mounted upon the drive shaft whereby both the pinion and geazr are supported by one of said sections.

9: A power transmitting unit for vehicles, comformed of readily separable prising a housing sections, differential drive mechanism including a ring gear located within and supported by one of said sections, a variable speed transmission mechanism comprising a drive shaft extending in overlapping `relation -with respect to the ring gear and having a change speed gearV mounted thereon opposite the face of the ring gear, means for journaling thedrive shaft in the section aforesaid of the housing including a pair of journals fixed to said section in spaced relation axially of the drive shaft and a pinion fixed to the drive shaft between the aforesaid journals and meshing with the ring gear, E

10. A power transmitting unit for vehicles, comprising a housing formed of a plurality of readily separable sections, diiferential drive mechanism including a ring gear located within and supported by one of said sections, variable speed transmission mechanism comprising a drive shaft journaled Within the aforesaid section in overlapping .relation with the ring gear and having a change speed gear mounted lthereon opposite the face of said ring gear anda pinion meshing with the ring gear and mounted upon the drive shaft whereby both the pinion and ring gear are supported inxthe same section'.

CARL w. Fnoss. 

